By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The Topper
Just a heads up that this is my Minnesota weekend. I leave Friday and return Sunday. For those who don’t know, I take an annual trip to Minnesota to honor my late father Vincent and watch his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, play.
But not to worry. The Gophers kick off with Rutgers at 1:30 pm. It will not impact my coverage of Baylor at Texas Tech since that game kicks at 6:30 p.m. Everything will look the same. The only difference is that the Baylor Breakdown for Sunday may be a bit later than normal because of my return flight.
Brathwaite fallout
It’s too early to know which way Baylor is going to go on this after losing high 3-star linebacker Christian Brathwaite, who flipped to LSU on Wednesday.
Baylor could try to replace in the high school ranks. Chances are the rating of the player won’t match what Brathwaite was. Per our Nick Harris story, we know Baylor has yet to make contact with SMU commit and Katy Paetow star Alex Kilgore. We also know that Arkansas commit Carson Dean from Lewisville Hebron is solid with the Razorbacks at this time.
You always allow for the possibility of something weird happening with a big name at another school. Still, Baylor could go JUCO or December transfer portal period or wait until the spring transfer portal period in May to see if there is someone the staff believes could fit.
DFW 2025 LB getting started
Dallas Skyline linebacker Elijah Barnes picked up a Baylor offer recently. There’s a lot of intrigue over someone who is 6-3, 210 with a lot of high school ball in front of him.
The Bears are his first P5 offer to go along with SMU, Grambling and Arkansas State. Running backs coach Justin Johnson, who covers Dallas, extended.
n.rivals.com
“It’s an honor to get a big time offer like that and have coaches by my side through all of this that’s going on,’’ Barnes said. “Just being humble and keep working that’s the mindset I have to have to make an impact on the next level.’’
Barnes is just starting to get know the staff. You can look at him as a Garmon Randolph starter kit because of his length. While he could be a defensive end in theory, Baylor initially likes him at outside linebacker.
It’s been a tough season for the Raiders. They are 0-9 following Thursday’s 37-0 loss to Mansfield. Barnes plans to take his first visit to Baylor Nov. 12 when the Bears meet Kansas State.
“For the most part I am still building connections with coaches and I have more to learn about everything up there,’’ he said. “My season it’s going really good. I’m staying healthy. I’m keeping my grades up. I’m just grateful to keep playing the game and doing what I love to do.’’
Red Oak Playmaker
Well, it worked before with snaring Red Oak tight end Kelsey Johnson. Now, Baylor is making its move for another rising pass catcher. This time it’s 2025 receiver Taz Williams, Jr.
The Bears also offered Williams not long ago. They are among his early seven offers including Arizona, Penn State, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. That’s a pretty good start for someone whose name is bound to blow up even more.
n.rivals.com
Williams visited Baylor for the Texas State game. Depending on how Red Oak’s postseason unfolds - the Hawks have already clinched a berth - he plans to make another trip.
“I loved the coaches when I went down to the Baylor vs Texas State game and they have been showing interest ever since,’’ he said. “Also, they are a great group of coaches and players to be around.”
What makes Williams a problem for opposing defenses is his physical style of play. The ability to win 50-50 balls will go a long toward success at the next level.
“They told me that my ability to make contested catches, get separation from my defenders, my speed and staying humble stand out to them,’’ Williams said. “[At the Texas State game] I noticed that their receivers never take breaks whenever they know they aren’t getting the ball and they are always engaged and locked in on the game.
So far, Williams leads all Red Oak receivers with 25 grabs for 422 yards (16.9 ypc) and four scores. He models himself after the just retired Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.
“I feel like i get a lot of separation from my defenders, make contested catches, my ability to play all over the field, and my speed,’’ he said. “I feel like i can work on my route running some more, you can never go wrong with that. Also, my speed, can never go wrong with getting faster.’’
Baylor players talk Texas Tech
Bears wide receiver Gavin Holmes and safety Devin Neal spoke with the media earlier this week to discuss the challenge of playing Saturday in Lubbock.
Gavin Holmes
(Psyched up for that atmosphere) I’m pumped, I’m super excited. It’s going to be a fun night, I’m excited.
(What have you heard about playing in Lubbock, since the last trip was during COVID) I’ve got friends that go there. They’ve been talking smack to me already. Of course, I’ve got friends on that team; coaches on that team that I respect, that I had great relationships with when they were here. So, we know it’s going to be a crazy atmosphere. Black out, Pat Mahomes is going to be there, all that stuff. But, those are just distractions to us, essentially. So, we’re just going to go out there and play our game.
(Heard about the tortillas) Yeah, we’ve seen it on film, you see them throwing them on film and stuff. So, like I said, another distraction.
(How do you limit the outside noise) I mean, obviously, we can’t turn off the crowd. But, we’ve been in atmospheres before like BYU, Iowa State. We just have to go out there and trust our training. We’re bringing energy out here at practice. We know when we go out there, it’s only going to be us. Everybody else is going to be wanting to take our heads off. So, we’re just preparing for that. We’ve got noise in practice, especially for the offense, and it’s blaring right behind us. So, yeah, we’re just working on that right now.
(Are there elements of this defense that has elements of a Joey McGuire offense that you’ve worked against in the past, or is it different) They run a lot of just straight man coverage. Man coverage, a lot of blitzes, a lot of different things. So, we’re just preparing for that. We haven’t seen a lot of that this year, maybe one or two teams we’ve played have played heavy man. But, the rest of them have been drop eight kind of coverages. So, we’re excited. We’re up for the challenge, for sure.
(Great 1st half versus Kansas, how do you keep that consistency) I think just coming out here and practicing hard every day. These past two games, against West Virginia, we threw the ball for a lot of yards, didn’t run it as well as we wanted to. But this past week, we ran it for a lot of yards and didn’t throw it as well as we wanted to. So, we’ve been preaching putting that together, that run-pass balance. And I think we can be an extremely dangerous offense. So, that’s the goal for this week is just to put it all together and go out there and perform.
(What are the elements that have been going right for you on offense in the past two games against West Virginia and Kansas) Yeah, I think like I said, just working in the run game on perimeter blocking. And the pass game, just play-action, just throwing and catching and just doing our base stuff. We have the right game plans, the coaches are going to put us in the right positions. So, I think it’s just going out there and doing what we do, running our base plays and execute them at a high level.
(How gratifying was it for you to put up those numbers in the West Virginia game, just from where you’ve come from with all the injuries) I mean, it was great, but honestly, I would much rather have gotten the win. That was obviously extremely disappointing. But we bounced back and got the win this past week. So, we’re just looking to move forward and keep that momentum going.
(Coach talked about how last week was the best week of practice since he’s been here. Have you carried that into this week and maybe had some shifts in energy) Like Coach said, last week was a great week of practice. So, we know what we have to do in practice to achieve that. And we’ve just been preaching that. It started yesterday, I thought we had great energy at practice yesterday. And today, I thought we had great energy, too. It’s just a matter of stacking those days and being consistent.
(Easier to work on things that went wrong coming out of win than loss) I think there’s more optimism. Everybody is like yes. I think even in the loss against West Virginia, especially the offense, we were encouraged by how we played. Whether you win or lose, there are always good things and there are always bad things. So I think being able to identify the bad even when we win and to come out here and execute it is extremely important moving forward.
(When did you get on same page as Blake) As soon as we knew Blake was going to be the starter, we just started working. When we were back home in Dallas, we would link up. We’d always spend a lot of time together just trying to build that connection off the field. We knew that would kind of translate on the field, just getting in extra work.
(Can Blake put turnovers behind him) Yeah. We preach, especially in the offensive meeting room, there’s going to be mistakes, guys are going to mess up, that’s part of the game. As a team you grow stronger together in those situations. I think when you have guys around you who lift you up and support you through everything, I think it’s easier to move on. We rally around Blake no matter what.
(Did they rally around you after Oklahoma State game) For sure. Obviously, I took a lot of that to heart. I was pretty disappointed after that game. But I got great teammates and coaches, and they said they still believe in me. They didn’t flinch. I just had a bad game, and I came back the next week and bounced back. So that’s why I’ve always told myself to keep going, there’s always going to be adversity.
(Young guys making impact) It’s just a testament to the work they put in. It’s really cool to see guys like Richard Reese, Hal Presley, Josh Cameron, Monaray, they’re all young guys but if you’ve seen them play you wouldn’t think that. That’s just a testament to work they put in the offseason. We’re always together, always hanging out and getting in the work that we can.
(Coach Baker) It’s crazy because a lot of people can see that. That’s my dog, I love Coach Baker. He’s been a father figure to me out here and all of us. This is the closest receiver room that I’ve been a part of. I’ve been here six years and have had four different receiver coaches. So this is by far the closest receiver room I’ve been a part of, and I think it’s a testament to him. He just preaches unity. Yeah we talk football but it’s more about life with him. You can see that when he celebrates with us. He’s genuinely happy for us and he genuinely cares. It’s so easy to play confident for a coach like that, so I think that’s just helped us out a lot.
Devin Neal
(Bracing for the TTU environment?) Well, we talked about the atmosphere first thing, just everybody getting their heads right. Making sure we all came, like brought our energy because we're all we got. Everybody's coming from Waco. There's nobody else. It’s just gonna be nothing but just people from Texas Tech at the game and us. So, we got to bring our own energy and just get fired up and stay focused and just keep our heads down.
(Have you ever had tortillas thrown at you before?) Oh, I was watching the film and I was wondering what that was flying on the field. I thought that was like paper plates or something.
(No, they like stuff throw tortillas down and then they throw them) They actually throw those on the field? Oh, I didn’t even know that was a thing. That’s interesting. No, I’ve never had a tortilla thrown at me.
(On TTU offense) They're a spread offense, heavy air raid team. They love to pass. They love to use No. 1, that's their main guy that they love to use. They have a pretty good offense. And we got to make sure we just keep things down, like as possible. They're going to try to run the ball, they're going to try to beat us on the air and the DB’s got to step up. That’s how I see it.
(How rewarding was it to stop the run against Kansas?) That was really great. That was a really great run performance we had. We haven't had that in a while and we all talked about it as a whole as a defense because it’s all 11 guys, it's not just D-line or DB’s. If one guy doesn't do their job, that's it. You can't have one mess up. All 11 have to do their job. And just having everybody execute and do their 1/11th – that’s what we call it – it was really awesome to see that.
(On 3 possible QBs, how do you prepare for that) Really, the best thing I can say for that is film study. You don't know who's gonna be out there, what they're doing until the last second. You see a formation or what guys [are] out there. You're not going to know what you're getting into unless you watch film and get some sort of experience. And we just got to make sure we're all together watching the film, know whose strengths and weaknesses are.
(Was there a message that easy key in getting that defensive performance against Kansas) Yeah, well I said it earlier and our message was just what Coach [Ron] Roberts said. He said “Do your 1/11th.” So, what that means deep down, for offense it’s like, no matter where you play football, you can have a mess up, you get another down. Defense, you have one mess up, DB has a bust, that's [a] touchdown. You can't afford to mess up at all. You got to do your 1/11th. All 11 men on the field have to do their job in order for the defense to be effective.
(Preparing for the night game? Is there anything more challenging in that regard?) Not really, not really the time of day. More so the atmosphere and what the game is to them. It’s going to be [a] blackout, Patrick Mahomes is going to be there, everybody’s gonna be rowdy, hyped up. And we just gotta stay locked in, stay focused. Everybody has to execute. I know it's gonna be tough for the offense, because [of] the noise. You're trying to hear the cadence and it’s just people on your necks yelling. For defense, we just got to make sure we don't let them get any momentum. We gotta keep it down, don't let their tempo go. We just have to keep things under control.
(Is that a noise maker we heard?) Yeah, it’s a big speaker.
(How do you guys go about communication knowing you might be able to hear each other?) Well, we got to throw in some hand signals. The thing for defense, when their offense is going, they don't really make as much noise – the away team. So, it's more easier to hear. It's more so at home really, it's harder to hear for our games, but we got to make sure we communicate. Probably make it like a cone with our mouths to get the voice going in their direction. It really helps.
(What’s better, riling up a loud home crowd or silencing a loud away crowd?) I'd really say silencing an away crowd. And one memory that brings up from the season is Iowa State. It was initially really loud at the beginning of the game. You could feel the momentum, it was back and forth. And then just defense, like doing what they had to do on offense, taking it away from them. You could see people leaving the game. You didn't hear anything. It felt like practice. I'm like, “This is a Tuesday practice.” That's what we all was saying . So yeah, I like the away games more, taking the energy away.
(On Matt Jones) I feel like he brings knowledge and experience. Because I remember, I recall him playing the Jack if I’m not wrong. He played the Jack, he plays the Will and I feel like him being able to bring the experience and tools that he used from one position to the other is really useful. Because, like I don't know how to put it. Like, the more versatile a player is, the more effective they can be. You just can know what's coming more. The way [Jalen] Pitre, he used to play linebacker, for example. When he was a Star, he knew runs was coming and he could just play ahead.
(Have you been able to look at film to fix 2nd half mistakes from Kansas?) Really, yeah. The first half, we talked about it like we played [a] really good first half of defense. It’s just, second half, we gotta like as a team, we have to play a whole four quarter game. We can't just play half, we can’t play second half, because against really good teams – like the team we’re about to play this upcoming weekend – you can't just take a half off. Because we saw last game, we almost got caught up too. We can't afford to have any mistakes like that. And we're looking at that. It's more so just getting too comfortable. You can't really get too comfortable with any lead in any sport, no matter what it is. College, pros, you can't get too comfortable with a lead. And I feel like we just got to keep stepping on their necks and keep going.
SicEmSports Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports unveils its looks at the league who in its view deserves to be ranked where. Agree or disagree, here’s how they look.
1. TCU – Horned Frogs keep the story going
2. Oklahoma State – Spencer Sanders living up to preseason hype
3. Kansas State – QB Adrian Martinez’s injury status impacts this team
4. Texas — Walking out on the Eyes of Texas
5. Texas Tech – Emotions run high for HC Joey McGuire vs. Baylor
6. Baylor – RB Richard Reese thriving in RVO
7. Oklahoma – QB Dillon Gabriel’s presence means that much
8. Kansas – Well-needed bye could help injury QB Jalon Daniels
9. West Virginia – Neal Brown love-hate is a wild stock
10. Iowa State – Cyclones hope OU upset kickstarts their season
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 schedule for the upcoming weekend. All games are Saturday unless otherwise listed. Rankings are from the coaches and AP polls. All times are central. TV is listed. Texas and Kansas have byes.
No. 7 TCU (7-0) at West Virginia (3-4, 1-3); 11:00 a.m., Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (ESPN)
Series: West Virginia leads, 7-4
Notable: TCU’s offense has scored no fewer than 38 points in any of its first seven games. Plus, the Horned Frogs are tied for the Big 12 lead in turnover ratio (+6). West Virginia is last in the Big 12 in turnover ratio (-4). Mountaineer defense allowing 275 passing yards per game.
Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3) at Iowa State (3-4, 0-4); 11:00 a.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (FS1)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 78-7-2
Notable: The Sooners are trying to figure out where they are offensively with the return of QB Dillon Gabriel. But they still struggle to stop the run (207.3). Iowa State has lost all four league games by a total of 14 points.
No. 9 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1) at No. 22 Kansas State (5-2, 3-1); 2:30 p.m., Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (FOX)
Series: Oklahoma State leads, 42-26
Notable: A Big 12 title game elimination contest. Wildcats have the second-best scoring defense in the league (19.7). Cowboys are tied with TCU as the top-scoring team in the conference (44.7).
Baylor (4-3, 2-2) at Texas Tech (4-3, 2-2); 6:30 p.m., AT&T Jones Stadium, Lubbock (ESPN2)
Series: Baylor leads, 40-39-1
Notable: It’s been four decades since Baylor has won in Lubbock.
Publisher
The Topper
Just a heads up that this is my Minnesota weekend. I leave Friday and return Sunday. For those who don’t know, I take an annual trip to Minnesota to honor my late father Vincent and watch his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, play.
But not to worry. The Gophers kick off with Rutgers at 1:30 pm. It will not impact my coverage of Baylor at Texas Tech since that game kicks at 6:30 p.m. Everything will look the same. The only difference is that the Baylor Breakdown for Sunday may be a bit later than normal because of my return flight.
Brathwaite fallout
It’s too early to know which way Baylor is going to go on this after losing high 3-star linebacker Christian Brathwaite, who flipped to LSU on Wednesday.
Baylor could try to replace in the high school ranks. Chances are the rating of the player won’t match what Brathwaite was. Per our Nick Harris story, we know Baylor has yet to make contact with SMU commit and Katy Paetow star Alex Kilgore. We also know that Arkansas commit Carson Dean from Lewisville Hebron is solid with the Razorbacks at this time.
You always allow for the possibility of something weird happening with a big name at another school. Still, Baylor could go JUCO or December transfer portal period or wait until the spring transfer portal period in May to see if there is someone the staff believes could fit.
DFW 2025 LB getting started
Dallas Skyline linebacker Elijah Barnes picked up a Baylor offer recently. There’s a lot of intrigue over someone who is 6-3, 210 with a lot of high school ball in front of him.
The Bears are his first P5 offer to go along with SMU, Grambling and Arkansas State. Running backs coach Justin Johnson, who covers Dallas, extended.
Elijah Barnes 2025 Outside Linebacker
Elijah Barnes - 2025 4 Star Outside linebacker for Skyline (Dallas, TX) on Rivals.com
Barnes is just starting to get know the staff. You can look at him as a Garmon Randolph starter kit because of his length. While he could be a defensive end in theory, Baylor initially likes him at outside linebacker.
It’s been a tough season for the Raiders. They are 0-9 following Thursday’s 37-0 loss to Mansfield. Barnes plans to take his first visit to Baylor Nov. 12 when the Bears meet Kansas State.
“For the most part I am still building connections with coaches and I have more to learn about everything up there,’’ he said. “My season it’s going really good. I’m staying healthy. I’m keeping my grades up. I’m just grateful to keep playing the game and doing what I love to do.’’
Red Oak Playmaker
Well, it worked before with snaring Red Oak tight end Kelsey Johnson. Now, Baylor is making its move for another rising pass catcher. This time it’s 2025 receiver Taz Williams, Jr.
The Bears also offered Williams not long ago. They are among his early seven offers including Arizona, Penn State, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. That’s a pretty good start for someone whose name is bound to blow up even more.
Taz Williams Jr 2025 Wide Receiver
Taz Williams Jr. - 2025 4 Star Wide receiver for Red Oak (Red Oak, TX) on Rivals.com
“I loved the coaches when I went down to the Baylor vs Texas State game and they have been showing interest ever since,’’ he said. “Also, they are a great group of coaches and players to be around.”
What makes Williams a problem for opposing defenses is his physical style of play. The ability to win 50-50 balls will go a long toward success at the next level.
“They told me that my ability to make contested catches, get separation from my defenders, my speed and staying humble stand out to them,’’ Williams said. “[At the Texas State game] I noticed that their receivers never take breaks whenever they know they aren’t getting the ball and they are always engaged and locked in on the game.
So far, Williams leads all Red Oak receivers with 25 grabs for 422 yards (16.9 ypc) and four scores. He models himself after the just retired Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.
“I feel like i get a lot of separation from my defenders, make contested catches, my ability to play all over the field, and my speed,’’ he said. “I feel like i can work on my route running some more, you can never go wrong with that. Also, my speed, can never go wrong with getting faster.’’
Baylor players talk Texas Tech
Bears wide receiver Gavin Holmes and safety Devin Neal spoke with the media earlier this week to discuss the challenge of playing Saturday in Lubbock.
Gavin Holmes
(Psyched up for that atmosphere) I’m pumped, I’m super excited. It’s going to be a fun night, I’m excited.
(What have you heard about playing in Lubbock, since the last trip was during COVID) I’ve got friends that go there. They’ve been talking smack to me already. Of course, I’ve got friends on that team; coaches on that team that I respect, that I had great relationships with when they were here. So, we know it’s going to be a crazy atmosphere. Black out, Pat Mahomes is going to be there, all that stuff. But, those are just distractions to us, essentially. So, we’re just going to go out there and play our game.
(Heard about the tortillas) Yeah, we’ve seen it on film, you see them throwing them on film and stuff. So, like I said, another distraction.
(How do you limit the outside noise) I mean, obviously, we can’t turn off the crowd. But, we’ve been in atmospheres before like BYU, Iowa State. We just have to go out there and trust our training. We’re bringing energy out here at practice. We know when we go out there, it’s only going to be us. Everybody else is going to be wanting to take our heads off. So, we’re just preparing for that. We’ve got noise in practice, especially for the offense, and it’s blaring right behind us. So, yeah, we’re just working on that right now.
(Are there elements of this defense that has elements of a Joey McGuire offense that you’ve worked against in the past, or is it different) They run a lot of just straight man coverage. Man coverage, a lot of blitzes, a lot of different things. So, we’re just preparing for that. We haven’t seen a lot of that this year, maybe one or two teams we’ve played have played heavy man. But, the rest of them have been drop eight kind of coverages. So, we’re excited. We’re up for the challenge, for sure.
(Great 1st half versus Kansas, how do you keep that consistency) I think just coming out here and practicing hard every day. These past two games, against West Virginia, we threw the ball for a lot of yards, didn’t run it as well as we wanted to. But this past week, we ran it for a lot of yards and didn’t throw it as well as we wanted to. So, we’ve been preaching putting that together, that run-pass balance. And I think we can be an extremely dangerous offense. So, that’s the goal for this week is just to put it all together and go out there and perform.
(What are the elements that have been going right for you on offense in the past two games against West Virginia and Kansas) Yeah, I think like I said, just working in the run game on perimeter blocking. And the pass game, just play-action, just throwing and catching and just doing our base stuff. We have the right game plans, the coaches are going to put us in the right positions. So, I think it’s just going out there and doing what we do, running our base plays and execute them at a high level.
(How gratifying was it for you to put up those numbers in the West Virginia game, just from where you’ve come from with all the injuries) I mean, it was great, but honestly, I would much rather have gotten the win. That was obviously extremely disappointing. But we bounced back and got the win this past week. So, we’re just looking to move forward and keep that momentum going.
(Coach talked about how last week was the best week of practice since he’s been here. Have you carried that into this week and maybe had some shifts in energy) Like Coach said, last week was a great week of practice. So, we know what we have to do in practice to achieve that. And we’ve just been preaching that. It started yesterday, I thought we had great energy at practice yesterday. And today, I thought we had great energy, too. It’s just a matter of stacking those days and being consistent.
(Easier to work on things that went wrong coming out of win than loss) I think there’s more optimism. Everybody is like yes. I think even in the loss against West Virginia, especially the offense, we were encouraged by how we played. Whether you win or lose, there are always good things and there are always bad things. So I think being able to identify the bad even when we win and to come out here and execute it is extremely important moving forward.
(When did you get on same page as Blake) As soon as we knew Blake was going to be the starter, we just started working. When we were back home in Dallas, we would link up. We’d always spend a lot of time together just trying to build that connection off the field. We knew that would kind of translate on the field, just getting in extra work.
(Can Blake put turnovers behind him) Yeah. We preach, especially in the offensive meeting room, there’s going to be mistakes, guys are going to mess up, that’s part of the game. As a team you grow stronger together in those situations. I think when you have guys around you who lift you up and support you through everything, I think it’s easier to move on. We rally around Blake no matter what.
(Did they rally around you after Oklahoma State game) For sure. Obviously, I took a lot of that to heart. I was pretty disappointed after that game. But I got great teammates and coaches, and they said they still believe in me. They didn’t flinch. I just had a bad game, and I came back the next week and bounced back. So that’s why I’ve always told myself to keep going, there’s always going to be adversity.
(Young guys making impact) It’s just a testament to the work they put in. It’s really cool to see guys like Richard Reese, Hal Presley, Josh Cameron, Monaray, they’re all young guys but if you’ve seen them play you wouldn’t think that. That’s just a testament to work they put in the offseason. We’re always together, always hanging out and getting in the work that we can.
(Coach Baker) It’s crazy because a lot of people can see that. That’s my dog, I love Coach Baker. He’s been a father figure to me out here and all of us. This is the closest receiver room that I’ve been a part of. I’ve been here six years and have had four different receiver coaches. So this is by far the closest receiver room I’ve been a part of, and I think it’s a testament to him. He just preaches unity. Yeah we talk football but it’s more about life with him. You can see that when he celebrates with us. He’s genuinely happy for us and he genuinely cares. It’s so easy to play confident for a coach like that, so I think that’s just helped us out a lot.
Devin Neal
(Bracing for the TTU environment?) Well, we talked about the atmosphere first thing, just everybody getting their heads right. Making sure we all came, like brought our energy because we're all we got. Everybody's coming from Waco. There's nobody else. It’s just gonna be nothing but just people from Texas Tech at the game and us. So, we got to bring our own energy and just get fired up and stay focused and just keep our heads down.
(Have you ever had tortillas thrown at you before?) Oh, I was watching the film and I was wondering what that was flying on the field. I thought that was like paper plates or something.
(No, they like stuff throw tortillas down and then they throw them) They actually throw those on the field? Oh, I didn’t even know that was a thing. That’s interesting. No, I’ve never had a tortilla thrown at me.
(On TTU offense) They're a spread offense, heavy air raid team. They love to pass. They love to use No. 1, that's their main guy that they love to use. They have a pretty good offense. And we got to make sure we just keep things down, like as possible. They're going to try to run the ball, they're going to try to beat us on the air and the DB’s got to step up. That’s how I see it.
(How rewarding was it to stop the run against Kansas?) That was really great. That was a really great run performance we had. We haven't had that in a while and we all talked about it as a whole as a defense because it’s all 11 guys, it's not just D-line or DB’s. If one guy doesn't do their job, that's it. You can't have one mess up. All 11 have to do their job. And just having everybody execute and do their 1/11th – that’s what we call it – it was really awesome to see that.
(On 3 possible QBs, how do you prepare for that) Really, the best thing I can say for that is film study. You don't know who's gonna be out there, what they're doing until the last second. You see a formation or what guys [are] out there. You're not going to know what you're getting into unless you watch film and get some sort of experience. And we just got to make sure we're all together watching the film, know whose strengths and weaknesses are.
(Was there a message that easy key in getting that defensive performance against Kansas) Yeah, well I said it earlier and our message was just what Coach [Ron] Roberts said. He said “Do your 1/11th.” So, what that means deep down, for offense it’s like, no matter where you play football, you can have a mess up, you get another down. Defense, you have one mess up, DB has a bust, that's [a] touchdown. You can't afford to mess up at all. You got to do your 1/11th. All 11 men on the field have to do their job in order for the defense to be effective.
(Preparing for the night game? Is there anything more challenging in that regard?) Not really, not really the time of day. More so the atmosphere and what the game is to them. It’s going to be [a] blackout, Patrick Mahomes is going to be there, everybody’s gonna be rowdy, hyped up. And we just gotta stay locked in, stay focused. Everybody has to execute. I know it's gonna be tough for the offense, because [of] the noise. You're trying to hear the cadence and it’s just people on your necks yelling. For defense, we just got to make sure we don't let them get any momentum. We gotta keep it down, don't let their tempo go. We just have to keep things under control.
(Is that a noise maker we heard?) Yeah, it’s a big speaker.
(How do you guys go about communication knowing you might be able to hear each other?) Well, we got to throw in some hand signals. The thing for defense, when their offense is going, they don't really make as much noise – the away team. So, it's more easier to hear. It's more so at home really, it's harder to hear for our games, but we got to make sure we communicate. Probably make it like a cone with our mouths to get the voice going in their direction. It really helps.
(What’s better, riling up a loud home crowd or silencing a loud away crowd?) I'd really say silencing an away crowd. And one memory that brings up from the season is Iowa State. It was initially really loud at the beginning of the game. You could feel the momentum, it was back and forth. And then just defense, like doing what they had to do on offense, taking it away from them. You could see people leaving the game. You didn't hear anything. It felt like practice. I'm like, “This is a Tuesday practice.” That's what we all was saying . So yeah, I like the away games more, taking the energy away.
(On Matt Jones) I feel like he brings knowledge and experience. Because I remember, I recall him playing the Jack if I’m not wrong. He played the Jack, he plays the Will and I feel like him being able to bring the experience and tools that he used from one position to the other is really useful. Because, like I don't know how to put it. Like, the more versatile a player is, the more effective they can be. You just can know what's coming more. The way [Jalen] Pitre, he used to play linebacker, for example. When he was a Star, he knew runs was coming and he could just play ahead.
(Have you been able to look at film to fix 2nd half mistakes from Kansas?) Really, yeah. The first half, we talked about it like we played [a] really good first half of defense. It’s just, second half, we gotta like as a team, we have to play a whole four quarter game. We can't just play half, we can’t play second half, because against really good teams – like the team we’re about to play this upcoming weekend – you can't just take a half off. Because we saw last game, we almost got caught up too. We can't afford to have any mistakes like that. And we're looking at that. It's more so just getting too comfortable. You can't really get too comfortable with any lead in any sport, no matter what it is. College, pros, you can't get too comfortable with a lead. And I feel like we just got to keep stepping on their necks and keep going.
SicEmSports Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports unveils its looks at the league who in its view deserves to be ranked where. Agree or disagree, here’s how they look.
1. TCU – Horned Frogs keep the story going
2. Oklahoma State – Spencer Sanders living up to preseason hype
3. Kansas State – QB Adrian Martinez’s injury status impacts this team
4. Texas — Walking out on the Eyes of Texas
5. Texas Tech – Emotions run high for HC Joey McGuire vs. Baylor
6. Baylor – RB Richard Reese thriving in RVO
7. Oklahoma – QB Dillon Gabriel’s presence means that much
8. Kansas – Well-needed bye could help injury QB Jalon Daniels
9. West Virginia – Neal Brown love-hate is a wild stock
10. Iowa State – Cyclones hope OU upset kickstarts their season
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 schedule for the upcoming weekend. All games are Saturday unless otherwise listed. Rankings are from the coaches and AP polls. All times are central. TV is listed. Texas and Kansas have byes.
No. 7 TCU (7-0) at West Virginia (3-4, 1-3); 11:00 a.m., Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (ESPN)
Series: West Virginia leads, 7-4
Notable: TCU’s offense has scored no fewer than 38 points in any of its first seven games. Plus, the Horned Frogs are tied for the Big 12 lead in turnover ratio (+6). West Virginia is last in the Big 12 in turnover ratio (-4). Mountaineer defense allowing 275 passing yards per game.
Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3) at Iowa State (3-4, 0-4); 11:00 a.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (FS1)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 78-7-2
Notable: The Sooners are trying to figure out where they are offensively with the return of QB Dillon Gabriel. But they still struggle to stop the run (207.3). Iowa State has lost all four league games by a total of 14 points.
No. 9 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1) at No. 22 Kansas State (5-2, 3-1); 2:30 p.m., Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (FOX)
Series: Oklahoma State leads, 42-26
Notable: A Big 12 title game elimination contest. Wildcats have the second-best scoring defense in the league (19.7). Cowboys are tied with TCU as the top-scoring team in the conference (44.7).
Baylor (4-3, 2-2) at Texas Tech (4-3, 2-2); 6:30 p.m., AT&T Jones Stadium, Lubbock (ESPN2)
Series: Baylor leads, 40-39-1
Notable: It’s been four decades since Baylor has won in Lubbock.
